UAD-1 and Sonar CPU Usage

[dbmusic]

I've found this weird issue on one of my projects and I am wondering if anyone else has seen anything like this.

In this project increasing the latency actually increases the CPU usage as follows:

128 samples - 36-39%
256 samples - 49-51%
512 samples - 67-69%
768 samples - 59-60%

I have narrowed this down to 2 UAD-1 plugins, the Plate 140 and the Roland Dimension D running on a vocal track. Disable these 2 and the CPU at 512 samples drops to 28-30%. Disable ALL the UAD-1 plugins and the CPU drops to 19-20%.

First, has anyone seen an issue where CPU usage increases with increased latency? Secondly, why are these plugins, which only use 70% UAD-1 card CPU and 47% card memory, impacting the CPU usage in Sonar (this happens in both 4.0.4 and 5)?

I should mention that in other projects I don't see this issue.

 

[dbmusic]

Over at the Sonar forum we are frequently seeing similar increased CPU usage issues with UAD plugins. Is this confined to Sonar? Are users of other DAW's seeing anything like this?

 

[scottfa]

Yep:
With a few audio tracks and some plugins(Plate 140, a couple of others) the CPU jumps from 8% to 45% over and over with no trasport engaged. I think the audio button is lit in Sonar 4.04, but I can't remember. If there is a workaround I sure would like to know it. I can't update to Sonar 5.0 until there is a fix.

 

[billybk1]

You guys should talk to UA directly and in great detail, concerning your specific issues. I am not seeing increased native CPU usage when increasing the latency. Although, I don't normally work that way. I save my UAD-1 plugins. for when it is time to mix, and it is usually, at 1024 samples (23.2msec), which is a nice sweetspot between maintaining a crisp project mixing latency and low to moderate native CPU usage.
I currently have a small (12) audio track - (5) Aux Bus project, in SONAR 5, where I am using (15) UAD-1 plugins (70% DSP usage with 2 cards) and my to my surprise, the total native CPU usage attributed to the UAD-1 plugins, is almost non-existant, it's ridiculous:

48%-56% with UAD-1 plugins engaged
46%-53% with UAD-1 plugins when disabled from the Performance Meter

(4) Cambridge EQ's
(3) 1176LN's
(3) LA-2A's
(2) Plate 140's
(1) Pultec EQ
(1) Fairchild 670
(1) Precision Limiter

FWIW, I routinely use 10,12,16, sometimes 20 plus, UAD-1 VST plugins (I have 2 UAD-1 cards), on track inserts and aux buses, in my SONAR projects and the total added native CPU usage, generally stays, in the 4%-7% range, on my PIII 1GHz DAW. Which for most DAW's a 3%-7% average is where it should be. If your DAW is consuming native CPU, in the double digits you have what amounts to native CPU munching.
On extremely rare occasions, I may get some native CPU munching, but the ol' disable/re-enable trick, from the PM, during playback quickly solves the problem. I use to get it all the time years ago, in SONAR 2 and I still do in Vegas 5, but hardly ever these days, in SONAR. I am still using the same DAW rig that I used (5) years ago. The only thing that has changed, over the years, is the software versions of SONAR and the UAD-1. I have never been able to figure out what exactly triggers it and neither has UA. Or why some users get it and others don't. There have been isolated incidents, of this native CPU munching, in other DAW hosts (Nuendo, Cubase, Samplitude, Logic, ACID Pro 5 etc.), as well.
For me anyway, the UAD-1 4.0 VST plugins are running better than ever, in SONAR 5 though.

 

[scottfa]

Yes, the disable/enable thingee works. I just forget to do it all the time. Seems strange that such a repeateable problem can't be isolated and fixed. You are correct that I should contact UA directly, It seems that they must be tired of the same problem over and over.

 

[secretworld]

Hi I don´t use sonar but it seems to me that if you get a higher load when changing the buffer settings this is caused by how sonar handles a buffer change. I´m on sx2 and when I´m working very close to the edge like 90%cpu and95% uad sometimes something goes wrong when I insert another small plug, then a driver reset(SX contriol panel) or disable reenable all plugs usealy helps, wich is in a way the same problem, sync between program, uad and asiobuffers is compromised.
Good luck
Vincent

 

[ranchdip]

Yeah, I'm SICK of reseting the plugs in the Performance Meter in Sonar. There's no excuse for that not being fixed by now.

 

[erlijohn]

Yeah, I'm SICK of reseting the plugs in the Performance Meter in Sonar. There's no excuse for that not being fixed by now.

:x I TOTALLY AGREE!!! :twisted:

 

[geekeye]

i use sonar 4.04 with two uads, and 256 samples is the only buffer setting i can use, and even so, cpu usage (2.53 ghz P4) goes up to about 60% when i have 20 or so powered plugins running. increasing or decreasing the buffer causes increased cpu usage and decreased stability.

i'm managing as is, but it would be nice if things weren't so picky.

 

[Hard_At_Work]

I wish the guys at Cakewalk and UA would just sit down together and hash things out or better yet just make a partnership. Perhaps a Sonar version of a UAD-1 card. It could have both cool little logos and for a change, it would actually work without having to use a crowbar